Associating objects with behaviors is well known throughout application development environments. Such association normally involves retrieving a menu listing multiple different possible behaviors, selecting a behavior that is both applicable and desired, selecting an object with which to associate the selected behavior, and, if needed, choosing another object that will be linked with the previously selected object's behavior. Upon eventual export of the created association to a user, the selected objects and behaviors generally function as defined by the host in the association process. Typical behaviors that may be used in the association include loading an image object when a user's mouse or pointing device points at or “rolls over” another image. Another typical behavior may be sending a user to another location when clicking a certain object, or playing a sound through the user's speakers when an object is rolled over. Other behaviors listed in the menu may include altering the status bar of a user's browser or displaying a JavaScript dialog.
In MACROMEDIA INC.'S FIREWORKS™, a web graphics development environment that is capable of performing these associations, a developer typically uses the behavior panel, which lists multiple behaviors that may be attached to an object, such as a hotspot or slice, to select a behavior for that object. A behavior is a combination of an event with an action triggered by that event. A hotspot is an area defined by a developer within an image that defines an area in which an action will occur or will be expected to occur. A slice is also an area, available in applications such as FIREWORKS™, that can be defined, selected, and moved during the creation of a web page, and which defines how an image will be split or sliced into multiple images upon being exported. First, the developer usually selects a hotspot, or slice object, and then selects a behavior from the behavior panel. Once the behavior is selected, the developer must typically then choose from various options in a dialog specific to that behavior. The system generally proceeds to associate the designated behavior to that object. This behavior association is often used in what are known as disjoint roll overs, in which a user rolling over a slice or hotspot in one region of an HTML page changes an image in another region of the HTML page.
Associating behaviors in this manner is often a time consuming process. This time consumption is usually even more evident when the developer is associating a number of objects with a number of behaviors. Using the existing methods, the developer is generally required to define extensive details concerning when and where each behavior should take effect.
It should be noted that the term “user” is used herein to represent the user of a web page or other interactive file after that file has been developed/created and then placed in a user-accessible area. In contrast, a “developer” or “creator” is the person or group of people who develop/create the web page or other interactive file using application development environments.